Here Comes After
by Latiwings
Summary: Tadashi is alive and all is well. Life has to go on after the movie after all. Collection of one-shots and drabbles in the same universe with 'Nii-chan' and 'Birthday Gifts'. Alive!Tadashi, No pairings, mostly team focused
1. The secrets we keep

**Chapter Title ::** The secrets we keep

**Summary :: **

In the end, Tadashi still lost something to the fire. In which he seeks and Hiro hides, but every game has to end. First part of the fic takes place before 'Birthday Gifts' and the rest after.

**Author's note :: **

Zephyrus Anemoi Fiction suggested that I make my small universe oneshots into a multi chaptered fic instead, for easy reading (Thanks again for the wonderful critique~). So I'll be updating this for every drabble/one-shot in this universe, I hope you guys will like it. :) A huge thanks to every single favorite, follow and review from my last two fics (I never got this much support before, I'm very, very flattered, you guys are the kindest people ever).

As for this chapter, I originally wanted to write a lighthearted, funny one shot for when Tadashi found out about Big Hero 6's identities, but I thought about it for a very long time, rolled ideas around in my head and my muse goes like, nope, it's better to be full of feels so here we are. It's a little intense, so be warned.

* * *

><p>It was on the third night after Tadashi woke up from coma that the harmony they had come to be comforted by began to crack.<p>

After all, Tadashi had woke up in a world that wasn't quite his own.

"Professor Callaghan got arrested!?"

Honey's breath hitched and she dropped the thermos she was holding. Gogo had the reaction and speed to catch said thermos, much to the short amazement from everyone. Wasabi choked on something that he was nibbling carefully on and Fred fell off his chair.

The only one who wasn't reacting was Hiro and that's only because he was sleeping. It's already late and they had barely managed to squeeze in some visiting time after university hours. The younger Hamada was cuddled up on top of Tadashi like a fluffy cat, despite the hospital bed being a tight fit.

Tadashi patted Hiro's hair lightly with a fond smile on his face, making sure that the noise didn't wake him up, before shooting a questioning look at the rest of his friends, one hand holding up the old newspaper he was reading.

Wasabi cleared his throat nervously.

Gogo was the one who answered.

"He caused massive destruction and injured civilians, so he got arrested," she explained while giving the thermos back to a very flustered Honey.

Tadashi frowned. "Are we are talking about the same professor?"

"You mean the one that you ran into the fire to save?" Fred blurted out before anyone could stop him, "Yeah, totally the same. That dude's insane!"

"Fred!" Wasabi hissed.

The older Hamada gave them an unbelieving look.

"Look, genius," Gogo popped her bubblegum, "We'll tell you the rest when you get out of the hospital, understand? Not now, visiting time's over anyway." And no one dared to argue with her.

"We'll see you tomorrow Tadashi," Honey gave him a weak smile, her eyes darting aside, "Just rest and don't think about it, okay?"

"Yeah, dude, like, it's not worth thinking over," Fred clapped Tadashi's shoulder, only for the older Hamada to hiss in pain. Gogo promptly dragged Fred away.

"Eh," Tadashi frowned a little more, before deciding to let it go for now, "Alright, I guess. Goodnight guys."

His friends stood there, staring at him.

"...What are you all waiting for?"

Wasabi held out his hand, gesturing to the sleeping Hiro.

"...right," Tadashi reluctantly let go of his baby brother, allowing Wasabi to scoop him up. It's just that, waking up from the coma feels like he missed a lifetime of things with Hiro and he hates to waste another second of it.

A chorus of goodnight from his friends, and soon he was left all alone. Tadashi laid down on his bed, mind running a mile a minute on what they said. He couldn't get rid of his troubled thoughts. After all, Professor Callaghan was a good man, so why would he suddenly go all destructive and get arrested?

He sighed, already missing his brother's warmth.

* * *

><p>"Hiro, you're not fooling any of us."<p>

A pause.

Then, a sigh.

Hiro slowly sat up from where they put him on the backseat of Wasabi's new van, the team slowly driving home. "What gave me away?" he grumbled, wiping the remaining sleep from his eyes.

"Your breathing rate's different," Wasabi remarked, "It was out of sync. Well, at least that's how I noticed it." The last part was hastily added when the other four stared at him.

"It's obvious. You can lie as well as Tadashi does," Gogo shrugged.

"Uh...thanks?"

"Hiro," Honey chuckled softly, "Tadashi lies horribly."

"Oh," Hiro facepalmed, "Right. Of course."

"So you were pretending to sleep so you can spy on the conversation, huh?" Fred grinned, "Totally badass, bro."

The younger Hamada didn't bother telling him that he jolted out of sleep at the sound of Professor Callaghan's name and only woke up fully when Wasabi picked him up from the soft, warm bed.

"What do we tell him?" Gogo asked, straight to the point.

"We can always tell him the truth," Wasabi suggested, "It's easy and it's honest."

"But even the media doesn't know what's Professor Callaghan's true motives," Honey played with her own fingers nervously, "They assumed that he gone power hungry. Tadashi knows the professor pretty well, there's no possible way he will buy the media's excuse."

Hiro had to turn away at that. Professor Callaghan...he's afraid to admit that he understood what had drove the Professor to such thing, because Hiro had nearly done the same, something that will forever haunt him.

Where the professor had been able to sacrifice lives for his goals, Hiro would and could have sacrificed his friendships.

The similarity was chilling.

"Hiro?" Honey's concerned voice snapped him out of his dark thoughts.

"We're not telling him anything," the younger Hamada said in a weary tone, "It's just.. He will freak out. He will get hurt. Just follow whatever the latest news said." Because revealing the truth requires them to reveal their source, and the only other people who know what really happened was Alistair Krei.

Next to him, Fred let out a distressed sound at not being able to show off. Wasabi looked conflicted as well.

Gogo popped her bubblegum, crossing her arms. "That better not be your brother complex talking." She doesn't like keeping secrets. Too much of an emotional burden.

"No, yes, maybe," Hiro grumbled, "The point is there isn't any reason for him to know. He's also probably going to ground me forever and that's not good. We'll tell him after he recovers fully. Deal?" He refuses to see another situation in which Tadashi ran and not come back, again.

"Suit yourself," Gogo shrugged, but there's something in her eyes that says she agrees with Hiro's sentiment. At least on the fact that Tadashi will definitely hurt himself over this fact and the adrenaline junkie didn't want that for her friend anymore either. "Sounds easy enough. Just not say anything."

"It always sounds easier than it does," Wasabi deadpanned.

"Or it could really be easy this time!" Honey chirped, readily agreeing with keeping the secret, "It can't take that long for Tadashi to recover, right? And then we will break it to him calmly, in a nice room with some hot tea and cookies-"

"Or it could totally be like inside comic books in which the harder the protagonist tries to hide a secret-" Fred waggled his eyebrow, "the faster it is revealed. Major plot twist!"

The rest of the team groaned.

* * *

><p>And of course, the universe hated Hiro and loved to make his life miserable.<p>

Two days after the team came to the decision, Hiro found himself once again on top of Tadashi on his hospital bed. He had done this for the past week since they found the older Hamada, wanting to be near where he can be sure he can hear Tadashi's heartbeat, cuddling up to make sure the warmth and the solidness is real.

_(Real and not just a fleeting moment of his imagination)_

Things are quiet since the others couldn't make it because of morning classes. Hiro used the silence and the comfort of his surroundings to read up on several papers, getting ready for his afternoon class's small exam, while Tadashi leisurely browsed through all the news he had missed while he was in coma.

"Big Hero 6?" Tadashi sounded amused, "Interesting costumes."

And Hiro promptly fell off the bed.

"Hiro!"

Baymax, who had followed Hiro to the hospital, waddled over to lend a hand to the fallen teen.

"Why are you reading on Big Hero 6?"

Tadashi raised an eyebrow at the flustered look on Hiro's face. "They are on the front page of the newspaper, genius," he lean over to ruffle his brother's hair, before patting his stomach as an invitation for the younger one to lay on top again.

For the first time that week, Hiro didn't take the invitation. Instead, he took deep breathes, trying to calm himself down. He is not going to find out, not going to run into danger with them, not going to leave him behind all over again-

"Hiro?"

"There's nothing worth reading about them!" the younger Hamada blurted out.

"You're looking pale, otouto. Come here."

Hiro snatched the newspapers out of Tadashi's hands, crumpled it the best he could and chucked it into the nearest rubbish bin. Now Tadashi can't see the several pictures the media had of them, can't spot out their familiar features. The boy made a mental note to add tinted lens to their visors.

Tadashi blinked. "Hiro, why?"

"Because you have other things to catch up on, like, eh -" Hiro spotted a couple of magazines Honey had left behind on their visits from the corner of his eye, "Like, this! Now I've gotta go to afternoon class, be safe, love you!"

Hiro rushed to his side, gathered all his revision papers and kissed Tadashi on the cheek as goodbye, before promptly rushing out of the room, all in the span it takes for Tadashi to blink.

Tadashi blinked again.

Then he looked at Baymax, who got left behind in the hurry.

"Goodbye Tadashi," Baymax gave a small wave, before waddling out of the room to follow Hiro. There was a frantic shout for Baymax to hurry up that echoed down the hall.

"Okay..." Tadashi remarked slowly to the empty air, before looking down at the magazine shoved forcefully into his hands, "...Latest, sexiest summer fashion?"

* * *

><p>Tadashi didn't get the chance to question Hiro on his behavior, nor read up on any Big Hero 6 related news until a good two weeks after he got discharged from the hospital, a day or two after Hiro's birthday.<p>

He had spotted Fred's present on the side of Hiro's bed and curiously flicked through the comic. The stories are simple, straight to the point, superheroes' story and Tadashi briefly wondered what got his brother to fan boy over this particular team.

Speaking of Big Hero 6, he should read up on the news again. Things had been hectic for a bit and he had lost track of the news he was reading, but the comic book had reminded him of where he had left off. Tadashi opened up his internet, and began to search.

"Heroes of Sanfransokyo, huh," he mumbled, eyes scanning over an article he found. His eyes sparkled with interest at the first bit of info he found.

'They first appeared during Professor Callaghan's case?' Tadashi frowned slightly. He hadn't had time to question his friends on Professor Callaghan's case either. The older Hamada searched the web for more news around that particular incident.

**Big Hero 6 saves Sanfransokyo from mad man!**

**Power hungry professor stopped by mysterious team!**

**Who are these heroes who save Sanfransokyo from destruction?**

However, none of the news have any clear report on the professor's motives. Most written it off as power hungry, attention seeking or even fame and glory hounding, considering the target was Alistair Krei. There was a small section on the professor's daughter being found in the wreckage, but no more.

Tadashi closed his computer, thoughts whirling.

There's something he's missing here, he just knew it. Before he could think about this any further, his eyes drifted downwards and noticed the time.

Then, he reached for his phone.

* * *

><p>And of course his phone had to go off when they are in the middle of a mission.<p>

Hiro was thankful that his phone's directly linked to his helmet, part of the communication system, but that didn't stop him from having a small heart attack when his phone randomly went off near his head.

Who would be calling him? Most of the contacts in his phone knows that he's busy since they are like right beside him. The only person that's not was Aunt Cass but he had dropped her a message saying he's on a mission and -

Oh.

Tadashi.

Of course.

"Hello?" Hiro tried to sound normal, or as normal as you can be while on air and flying to the trouble site. He didn't let out a squeak. Nope, not at all.

"Hiro? When are you coming back?" Tadashi paused, "It's been an hour after your last class." The fact that Tadashi took the time to memorize his timetable didn't escape the Hiro and he begrudgingly admired his brother for that.

"Eh..."

"Hiro? Are you bot-fighting again?"

"No!" Hiro yelped, "I mean, uh, yeah. Yeah, you caught me bro. Uh, I'll go home right now, uh, soon! Promise!"

"Hiro..."

"Talk to you later bye!"

Silence.

"Are we being suspected?" Wasabi asked from Baymax's hand. "I knew it was a bad idea to keep it from him. Now he's going to kill us for hiding it from him!"

"Let's not jump to conclusions," Honey piped up with a weak smile, "Maybe he's just worried because Hiro isn't home yet. Right, Hiro?"

"I'm totally grounded."

* * *

><p>It was late when they wrapped up a bank robbery, so Hiro did what a sane, 15 year old teen would do when they came home late.<p>

He proceeded to sneak to his room.

"Hiro."

Of course. Why does he even bother?

"Tadashi," he whirled around, giving his older brother a sheepish smile, "Hi! Uh...uhm...why are you still awake?"

"...bot fighting, Hiro?" Tadashi looked disappointed.

"Uhm, yeah," Hiro cursed himself for not coming up with a better excuse, "I-it's my last, I swear! Besides, nothing happened. Baymax was with me!"

The older Hamada looked behind Hiro, expecting Baymax to pop up and say an affirmative, but when nothing showed up, he raised an eyebrow.

"...He had some malfunctions so I placed him in the garage so I can check on him tomorrow?"

"Right," Tadashi sighed, "Hiro, you know how I feel about you bot fighting. Especially now that I can't..." _'go out and save you in case anything happens_' remains unspoken but hinted. The spark of worry in Tadashi's eyes was like a punch to Hiro's gut.

_(He's not going to bot fighting ever again because he can't risk Tadashi being disappointed enough in him to up and leave him once again. Please please please he can't bear the thought of another goodbye)_

"I'm sorry," Hiro doesn't even know what he's apologizing for. "I'm sorry, nii-chan. I'll stop, I promise. No more." The half-lie tasted bitter in his mouth, but he will lie forever if it meant Tadashi staying.

His older brother held out his arms and Hiro complied, sinking into the warm hug.

No words were exchange. They have reached some sort of agreement, but whether the agreement's the same remains unspoken.

Hiro clutched Tadashi's shirt tighter, biting the bottom part of his lips.

This was not how this is going to end.

He just knew it.

* * *

><p>After Hiro slowly fell asleep, Tadashi pried him off slowly, making his way down to the garage.<p>

There had been a kind of sincerity in Hiro's voice when he apologized. It makes his brother sound so young and innocent and this only fueled Tadashi to make sure Hiro stays safe. There's only one way he could think of, now.

_(He lost too much time and he sees the hurt in Hiro's eyes and he swore to never hurt him again)_

Baymax's always with Hiro nowadays. He plans on installing a GPS in the robot so he can always get to Hiro.

"Baymax? Ouch."

The marshamallow-like robot inflated, and Tadashi took a step back in shock.

Baymax's arms were deflated and there was a nice, noticeable rip on his left arm. Slight burn marks littered around the lower part of the robot and Baymax was standing with a tired look, if a robot could look tired, that's it.

"Hello Tadashi," Baymax greeted with his signature wave.

"What happened to you?" Tadashi murmured.

Baymax tilted his head. "I got shot by an electrical gun. It does no long lasting damage, but a check up is recommended just in case of system failure."

"Electrical gun," Tadashi repeated numbly. He tried to think but there's a kind of panic rising at the back of his throat. What had Hiro got into this time?

"My scanners indicate that you are about to hyperventilate," Baymax's voice was soothing, as though as he's oblivious to the problem at hand (he probably is), "Tadashi, please calm down."

That did it.

"Calm down!?" no, that was not a shriek, "Electrical gun!? What was that knucklehead thinking? No wait, he obviously wasn't thinking! Why would he be in a situation where an electrical gun was present!?"

"Your stress levels are at unhealthy numbers," Baymax remarked (he totally imagined the amused and slightly fond tone in the robot's voice), "Diagnosis: Brother complex."

"What!?"

"It is alright to feel protective over a family member," the marshmallow-like robot ignored the gawking Tadashi, "It's recommended for you to give Hiro some space. Growing teenagers often easily feel trapped."

Silence.

"Oh gods I-" the older Hamada rubbed a hand over his face, "Baymax, just- I don't know." He leaned against the wall with a sigh. "I feel like I've been left behind. I can't keep up. I feel utterly useless. I-

"Will knowing where Hiro was this afternoon improve your mood?"

"Yes!" Tadashi blurted, "I mean, of course! Do you have readings on it?"

"Readings from this afternoon activities are in my database."

"Let me take a look at it for a bit," Tadashi pressed the chip compartment (Was it his imagination again or did Baymax hesitated a little?). The compartment slide open smoothly enough, and Tadashi plucked the green chip from Baymax.

"This isn't my chip," he inspected the new chip. It's still bright green in color, even if it's just a tad shade lighter, and there's even a crude, copied drawing of his original doctor symbol.

"Hiro replaced the chip with a new one after the old one got battered," Baymax supplied helpfully, "All data was synced and copied over. There were no major changes to the mainframe codes."

Tadashi frowned a little. Just what event would cause the chip to take a beating? Putting that on the list of ever growing questions he plans to ask Hiro, he slid in the chip to his computer. Data began to cover the screen.

"Uh..." Tadashi tapped a finger at the edge of a table, "Location, first. What's this?"

Fighting moves. Altitude readings.

Tadashi felt as though as the ground shifted under him.

* * *

><p>Unfortunately he didn't quite manage to catch Hiro at a good time for a long explanation and confirm his suspicions, especially with all the school work and Hiro sometimes coming home late when Tadashi was already asleep, body still recovering and needing the rest that he can't sacrifice.<p>

He did however, manage to catch of a time when Hiro rushed out of the room a few days later (Tadashi was about to drift to an afternoon nap). The younger boy gave some excuse to Aunt Cass and ran out of the door as though as his life depends on it.

So of course Tadashi whipped out his GPS tracker. This was his chance!

He pushed his moped to go as fast as possible, but Hiro seems to be travelling at definitely-not-walking speed.

Well, screw the traffic laws when his brother's at stake.

* * *

><p>"Tadashi is here."<p>

"Yes," Hiro absentmindedly nodded, listening to the police reports after the latest mess the team had cleaned up. They had been a little too late to this time's robbery and by the time they got here, they only got the last of the robbers.

Hiro blamed it on his own sleepiness. If he had not been so drowsy, maybe he could have gotten here earlier, but he had not gotten a good amount of sleepnowadays, what's with a string of bank robberies and lab ransacking crimes, coupled with schoolwork and trying to squeeze in more time with his older brother because they had lost enough time as it is.

Then, the weight of the sentence hit him. "Wait, where!?"

"12 meters away, to your left," Baymax supplied helpfully and the team looked towards that direction. True enough, Tadashi's looking around at the scene as if searching for someone. He's shaking a device in his grip, seemingly frustrated with it.

"What did I tell you?" Fred's voice was smug underneath the costume, "Comic books are always right."

"I'd rather not," Hiro groaned. He's thankful for the tinted lens that he had installed on their visors.

"Then what are we waiting for?" Gogo placed a hand on her hip, "Let's go."

With that the team dispersed, Fred jumping into the air and up among the buildings, Wasabi and Honey riding on their newly-added-equipment-to-the-team, a green electromagnetic bike and Gogo making her way through the crowd and down the streets with her unholy speed.

Hiro himself jumped on top of Baymax, the robot taking a few steps before flying upwards.

For a moment, Hiro looked down and his eyes met Tadashi's.

His heart skipped a beat.

_(Please please please don't recognize him)_

Then Tadashi turned away and Hiro was too far to see anymore.

* * *

><p>His stupid GPS broke down just before he reached the destination.<p>

Tadashi grumbled at the timing of it all, letting out a slew of words that he will always be careful to not use around Hiro. A frown crossed his face; Big Hero 6 were at the situation, though they had dispersed before he got a good look on them.

(There was something oddly familiar about the one that flew away last.)

He couldn't pinpoint why but it shouldn't matter because his priority was Hiro. Just where did his genius of a baby brother go? His mind recalled back to something that Fred had said. Something about Hiro fanboy-ing over these people? Those fighting data, where he was yesterday...Was Hiro trying to mimic them?

He had mixed feelings over that. On one hand, there was disbelief because Hiro really, really isn't the type to idolize superheroes randomly. And then there was a slight tint of jealousy that Tadashi will never admit.

There's someone else Hiro idolizes. Someone that he looks up to, someone he wants to copy and follow as role model.

Someone that is not him.

It hurts.

As he neared Lucky Cat Cafe, there was a sound coming from the garage. Tadashi perked up. Hiro?

"I do agree there had been more robberies lately."

That is definitely Hiro's voice. Another voice replied him, a little static due to it being a video call, but Tadashi remembers that voice clearly.

"I have heard rumors of an underground plot," Alistair Krei's voice was as smooth as the last time, that fox, "It appears they are planning one of the largest bombing this decade."

"That's not good, though it does make sense of their lab ransacking crimes and money haul," Hiro sighed, "What of their motives? Why bombing?"

"Unknown, as of now. There are theories..." A pause. "Regarding my safety-"

"Your safety's as important as the rest of the citizens in San Fransokyo," the younger Hamada replied with a clipped tone, "Thank you very much for the tip."

"...You're welcome."

And Tadashi couldn't stand it anymore.

"Hiro!"

There was the sound of frantic shutting off and a quick 'bye' before Tadashi stormed in.

Hiro (thankfully not in armor anymore) looked like a fawn caught in headlights. Those doe-like eyes and slightly opened mouth and the look of horror at being caught at something he should not be doing. Tadashi clenched his fists.

"Was that Alistair Krei!?"

"What, who?" Hiro looked away nervously, shuffling his foot, "I don't know what you are talking about. I was just talking to...uh...Wasabi! Right! About, uh, about gummy bears." By the end of the sentence Hiro had a what-am-I-saying expression.

"With Wasabi. About gummy bears?" Tadashi's voice only held disbelief and barely reigned anger. He did not buy Hiro's lie for a minute because he recognizes Krei's voice anywhere and how dare that man talk to his baby brother. "So why close the video call, then?"

"Because you startled me?" Hiro snorted, "I'll call him again later."

"You're lying."

"I'm not!"

"Are you trying to get yourself hurt?"

"Why do you always think that I'm getting myself hurt!?" Hiro burst out. His lack of sleep finally caught up on him. "Why was it that you can't have a little faith in me? I'm not the one that ran into the fire!"

The younger Hamada covered his mouth, but it was too late.

Tadashi flinched back with his eyes wide.

_(They had lost time because he chose to run to the fire.)_

"Tadashi," Hiro reached out weakly, "Nii-chan, no, please, I didn't mean it like that. Tadashi!"

But Tadashi had backed away and ran, away from the garage, on his moped, away from the cafe. He drove and drove and drove until he reached one of the bridges overlooking a river running through San Fransokyo, and only then Tadashi let out hurt gasp.

_'I'm not the one that ran into the fire!'_

That's right.

Things have changed. He had closed his eyes and woke up in a world where Hiro doesn't need him anymore, where there were secrets that walled their relationship and he's no longer the most important person in Hiro's life.

Unconsciously he had been waiting for Hiro to said it all this time because he could see the hurt in those eyes, the trust that was betrayed when he chose someone else over him.

He screwed things up.

Tadashi closed his eyes, falling down on his knees.

And now they stand in this awkward road, with independent Hiro who no longer needs a person to butt into his business every single time, because Tadashi had left him to grow up on his own and Hiro doesn't need him anymore and it hurts.

A choked sob.

It was all his fault.

* * *

><p>Hiro chucked a screwdriver against the garage door.<p>

He had tried to chase after his brother but his knees had wobbled and he saw stars for a moment because when was the last time he had actually slept? He doesn't remember anymore, and as a result he fell back on the sofa, cursing the very fates above.

He had not meant to say that.

It was not Tadashi's fault because Hiro had asked himself the very same question again and again and again after the funeral (not that that matters anymore). If that night was repeated, Hiro knows in his guts that Tadashi would have done it again and again because it's Tadashi and he's not as selfish as Hiro was.

"Me and my big mouth," the younger Hamada's eyes were closed. If he opens his eyes he sees stars and doubles that reminds him of his fatigue, but when he closes them he sees Tadashi running away. It reminds him too much of the other time his older brother had ran and that hadn't end well.

"I've contacted our friends to search for Tadashi," Baymax piped up with his warm voice and Hiro gave him a weak smile.

"Thanks bud," Hiro slowly sat up. "Now let's join the search -."

And the shrill beeping of the alarm cut him off.

* * *

><p>Honey and Wasabi were the ones who found him.<p>

It was slowly edging to midnight and the moon was bright and they found Tadashi Hamada looking out at San Fransokyo over a bridge.

"Tadashi, Tadashi!"

"Ooomph!" Tadashi was nearly knocked over by the force of Honey's hug. "Honey!"

"Thank goodness we found you!" Honey's voice was full with concern, "We were so worried when Baymax contacted us but we're so glad that you're alright!"

"Yeah man," Wasabi sighed in relief. "Don't run out like that again, you scared the wits out of everyone!"

Tadashi chuckled warmly, patting her shoulder and giving them a thankful look. "I just needed some place to think." He explained, eyes slowly going back to the view of the city, "This was a pretty good place."

"Tadashi, are you okay?"

"I'm alright for now," Tadashi's eyes glazed over, his voice solemn, "I'm sorry for making everyone worry."

"There's something you are not telling," while her voice is soft, Honey's words were sharp, "Tadashi, you're still his most important person, you know."

Of course she could see through him, through them like she always could because Honey's expertise was noticing what her friends were thinking and making sure they were all fine. Her words felt like an invisible blade and Tadashi reeled backwards, eyes wide.

"He's not telling only because he's afraid you are leaving again," Honey offered him a sad smile, "So show him that you're not going away?"

A loud explosion rang through the air and stole Tadashi's reply.

"What was that?" Wasabi's voice was a high squeak, eyes darting towards the source.

Over the bridge and in the middle of the city were the tell tale signs of smoke, clear and horrifying gray against the blue, night sky.

Honey's phone rang.

"Yes, Gogo," Honey's eyes widened at the news she received. She let out some curses in Spanish. "Yes, we'll be right there."

"What happened?"

"Something bad," Wasabi's tone was grim as Honey filled him in on what happened."Tadashi, it's high time you know something."

There're no point in keeping secrets now.

* * *

><p>As he rode on the back of Wasabi's green electromagnetic bike (tight fit but it worked), Tadashi couldn't help but thought that everything makes so much sense now.<p>

Why Hiro sometimes came back late at night even if there were no classes. Why Hiro wouldn't let him see the news if he could help it. It seemed like Hiro has a mountain of secrets to keep.

It's so very surreal to try and put his friends' faces in Big Hero 6's, but suddenly Fred's comic made sense and why Hiro had gawked at it. The truth had been there all along but it was Fred, so Tadashi had not believed. Seeing Honey and Wasabi in their suits cause reality to fall upon him like a brick. If they were the heroes and if Fred's comic book told the truth then Hiro was there, risking his life for the well-being of other people.

_(Just like him)_

They reached the bombing site and Tadashi stared because fire, fire everywhere and the scars on his back throbbed.

"Honey, Wasabi!"

He turns and sees Baymax in glorious armor and Fred in his monster suit, forming a private circle. Gogo's yellow suit is blackened with ash and her visor is up and -

"Oh my god, Hiro!"

There's a small body in blackened purple suit, in Gogo's arms and oh god Hiro no -

"Hiro!" he practically snatched the child's body from Gogo's hands, "Hiro, Hiro wake up. Wake up!"

Hiro's so very small. Tadashi was painfully reminded that his younger brother just turned 15 and while that he's a superhero now, Hiro will forever be his baby brother and this was not fair. The fire had claimed a portion of his life and they were not going to claim his otouto too, he refuses -

"...nii-chan."

And Tadashi stared, Honey held back a choked sob, Gogo looked emotionless (but the hurt was in her eyes), Wasabi paused in his call for an ambulance and Fred froze.

Hiro smiled weakly up at them (oh god he looks like a precious angel) and his eyes focused on Tadashi. His smile turned wider and there was that little gap between his tooth that makes him look that much younger. "...I got them out," he wheezed, because other people's lives were more important now, "I got them all out."

Then, he let out a choked cough and looks up at Tadashi with such awe in his eyes because

"I got you out, nii-chan. I got _you_ out."

There's a glitter of achievement and peace because he finally did what his nightmares could not and

Tadashi felt like the wind was knocked out of him.

The ambulance came and took Hiro away. The flames crackled and burned behind them and the team slowly began help out with cleaning the mess but Tadashi just stared at the ground because

this was all his fault.

* * *

><p>The sun was too bright when he woke up and Hiro wants to go back to sleep immediately.<p>

Where's this comfortable bed that he's in? He doesn't remember having such a good night sleep in a long while now and Hiro sighed, snuggling to the fluffy pillow. It's not like there's anything he needs to do, right? There were school assignments (sure, but those can wait), there was an alarm, there was a bomb -

Hiro shot up.

The bombing! Krei's information was accurate!

"...mhmm..Hiro?"

To his side Tadashi woke up slowly, looking up with sleepy eyes until the older Hamada realized that yes, Hiro was actually awake.

"Hiro!" he gripped the younger boy's arms, "You're awake. Oh thank heavens!"

"Tadashi," Hiro let himself be pulled into a warm hug, one that he gladly returned, "Tadashi, stop it. I'm fine."

"Are you hurt anywhere?"

"I don't think so?" Hiro stretched to test his muscles, "A little sore and bruised but-"

"Then what were you thinking!?" and Hiro had forgotten what it was like to see Tadashi cry because his older brother hadn't cried in so long, "You could have gotten killed! Why would you run into a burning building!?"

A pause.

Hiro's eyes were wide and there were tears running down Tadashi's cheeks.

"Because someone had to help," the younger Hamada's voice was quiet, but it got the point across and Tadashi stiffened, "I asked myself that every night and someone had always needed to help."

_(Hiro had grown up too fast and they had lost so much time)_

"This is all my fault," was out before Tadashi could stop. He's not suppose to be weak in front of Hiro but he so very nearly lost him so he doesn't care - "I abandoned you. I betrayed you. I'm so so sorry, Hiro, I'm so sorry." There, he said it, the burden left from the flames that had eaten far too much.

Hiro made a face and buried himself closer to his brother's warmth.

He remembers now, what he sees last as Gogo dragged him from the burning building, saving his life with her speed.

_(He had seen Tadashi and he had reached out and Tadashi had stopped, stopped and not ran into the building. It was breathtaking because his wish had come true and he had closed his eyes, for a moment living in a world where the fire had not touched his older brother at all)_

"I'm sorry too," Hiro didn't know when he started crying and his sobs were soft, "I'm sorry for not stopping you. I'm sorry because I hesitated. I'm so, so sorry."

Tadashi let out a strangled chuckle, tears marring his features and he rubbed Hiro's back in comforting circles. "There was nothing you could have done to stop me and you know it."

"Yes," the smaller boy admitted readily, "But it still hurts."

And Tadashi agrees.

Their hug felt like forever and the tears felt like another lifetime but when it dried up it felt like there were wings in their hearts.

While Tadashi obviously could not snuggle on top of Hiro like the other boy had did earlier last month or so, the older Hamada had most of his upper body on the bed in attempts to be as close as possible. Hiro welcomed the contact readily, basking in the warmth of being alive and knowing Tadashi was alive and all was well.

Then Fred opened the door.

"Group hug!" he joined the hug before they could protest.

Tadashi groaned, before noticing Fred's shoulders were shaking ever so slightly. Another body joined the hug and he sees Honey with puffy eyes that just finished crying, and there's Gogo awkwardly joining with a raw kind of emotion she's barely holding back. Even Baymax joined, the marshmallow-like robot's eyes closed. Wasabi was last and the man didn't even bother to stop crying.

_(They were all coping too, because the Hamadas weren't the only ones who were scarred)_

"Can't breathe," came Hiro's small, muffled voice after a bit, beneath all the bodies. The team moved aside awkwardly with sheepish laughter.

"Were you guys listening on us?" Tadashi asked in an amused tone.

"Sort of?"

"We were outside the room for approximately the last 30 minutes."

"Baymax!" Fred gasped with a mocked betrayed tone, "Is this my punishment for replacing you with Tadashi in the comic books? Oh right!" The teen's eyes lit up with glee, "Now that he knows, we can regal him with all our tales, all the fighting that we do, all the danger we got involved in -"

"Fred, just stop," Wasabi clamp a hand over Fred's mouth because Tadashi's eyes were widening to a comical level.

Hiro cleared his throat nervously.

"While it's great that the secret's out and everything, maybe we can keep the description of our missions to a minimal level?"

"No way!" Tadashi interrupted immediately. He wasn't letting Hiro get out of this one. "No sparing me the details. I want to know everything," he leveled a stern look on Hiro, "and I mean _everything_ that you guys have done until now."

Fred was all too eager to launch into tales of their adventures while Hiro groaned, burying his face to his hands. He was totally going to get grounded after all this.

But then

He peeked at the group from between his fingers.

"And then Gogo got shot and I saved her ass, totally -"

"You did not save me because it didn't even hurt!"

"Lies." That's Wasabi. "We had to go to the hospital."

"There were guns? Real guns?" Tadashi looked like he's stuck between horrified and amazed.

"It's okay, they only got one shot out," Honey chirped in to calm him down, "I managed to muck up all the barrels so they can't shoot anything."

Hiro stifled a laugh when Tadashi didn't look all that mollified. Oh, they'll need a lot more than that to stop him from worrying and by the look on Honey's face, she knows it too. She's just having a little fun on Tadashi's behalf and the girl winked at Hiro before joining back the conversation.

"My scanners indicate that you are happy, Hiro."

The younger Hamada gave Baymax a grin that could light up the room.

"I am," Hiro sighed, his voice warm and full of contentment, "I really am. I'm so happy."

This is perfection.

* * *

><p><span><strong>Headcanons list~<strong>

- Tadashi has a web of scars running across his back, expanding to the back of his legs and most notable, up till his arms and a few lines or two reaching all the way to his fingers. In the last moments during the fire he had tried to shield his face from the fire, thus the horrific scars focused on his arms, back and legs. His face wasn't left untouched, but it's not that major.

- Hiro was adamant on not letting Tadashi jump straight back into school. If the younger Hamada had his way, Tadashi won't be attending university for a good long while. They settled on Tadashi taking less subjects in the first semester he returned.

- Aunt Cass knows about Big Hero 6. She figured it herself after seeing the first few newspapers reports on their daily, trouble solving cases and Hiro's similar timing disappearance. She is smarter than she makes herself out to be, being parent to two geniues and the sister-in-law to a genius couple does that to you.

- Hiro replaced Tadashi's old chip in Baymax with a new one. It's still green, though a tad shade lighter (he couldn't find the same color), and there's a crude drawing of the doctor symbol (Hiro tried, really). The new chip contains the exact same codes as the old one. Hiro didn't overwrite or do anything, only adding never subtracting. The only reason for the change was the old one is a little battered and Hiro didn't want to risk losing that one, for memories sake.

- The team has extra equipment since the events of the movie. While they are still working on transportation stuff, since not all of the team has to be there to solve very crime, the current set up is Fred moving in his suit (has enough jumping power), Wasabi and Honey sharing an electromagnetic bike (Gogo customized that one, but Wasabi insisted on his own set of features, Honey's just glad she can move about quick) and Hiro has Baymax.

- There was that one mission that Fred managed to shield Gogo from a shooting (although there was one bullet that got the girl). Gogo insisted that she's fine (she's pretty okay, really) but Fred teases her constantly about it.

- Tadashi joins the Big Hero 6 but not as a fighting member. Hiro threw a tantrum and was adamant that no, Tadashi does not get to go to the front lines. As agreement Tadashi gets to handle all the communication, knowledge, engineering and equipment stuff at the background. That did not mean he stays at home and twiddle his toes, however, Tadashi is very much on the field to make sure all of them stay safe. He is considered, in the loosest term, a backup, someone to get everyone to safety if the situation cannot be handled by them. (He also hacked into Hiro's communication because he can)

**Author's note :: **

I would love to add into this universe as much as I can, so you're all welcomed to send in ideas and prompts. While I cannot guarantee all will be written, I want to fill this fandom with as much feels and hopefully more lighthearted fics. :)


	2. First come sparks (Part 1)

**Chapter Title ::** First come sparks

**Summary ::**

They rarely do disagree, but when they do it's epic. (Part 1 of 3)

**Author's note ::**

I split this to three parts, because somehow that makes sense to me. XD Also, super later Merry Christmas! I was maintaining a booth in Comic Fiesta so I'm late for this I'm so sorry. TT-TT After seeing Liui Aquino cosplay as Hiro makes me love this movie even more ide (he even acts like Hiro on stage while presenting it's like watching BH6 in live action *squeals*)

Ah-hem.

Enjoy? XD

**Dedication ::** To **Moros_mints** for his lovely fanfic (Hell is a lot nicer than expected) (it's gory but oh so very beautiful), **Bukkun** for her gorgeous work (Kokoro and Babang Luksa) that make me cry and **Seito** for his absolutely wonderful work on Share a Table and August 15th. TT-TT

* * *

><p>They were having lunch.<p>

The sky was sunny, the food were good (as good as the college cafeteria could have), their projects were coming along nicely, there were no notable crimes and of course, it was the perfect setting for something to happen.

Naturally.

The team sat around a table, with Honey between Gogo and Fred on one side and Tadashi with Hiro and Wasabi on the other side. It's the team's habit to share accomplishments, problems and breakthroughs during lunch and right now it's Honey's turn.

"-and so I think I can find the solution for it by the end of this week, if everything goes smoothly," the blonde gushed, "Oh, oh, this is so exciting!"

"Good going, Honey," that was Tadashi, who briefly put down his fork to offer the compliment, "I'm sure you can do it."

"Is it my turn, is it my turn?" Fred's voice was as eager as ever, "I have this new idea that I think is awesome! It should totally be implemented in my 'costume'! Like, can you guys make me breathe ice as well as fire -"

And Hiro promptly choked on his strawberry jam filled sandwich.

"Okay, calm down, breathe," Tadashi patted Hiro's back, coaxing the last of his coughs. He waited until Hiro stopped coughing before saying, "...That reminds me, I should be asking you for your suits' specs."

Hiro shot a pointed look at Fred before turning to his older brother and putting on the best innocent expression he can do.

"Why would you even need it?" wide, doe-like eyes and small smile, "It's okay Tadashi, I got this."

"Hiro Hamada," Tadashi deadpanned, "You know that's not the point."

Damnit, his brother wasn't distracted.

Ever since the revelation happened, nothing big had occurred. Hiro was adamant on keeping it that way and keeping anything hero-related away from Tadashi. If he had his way Tadashi would have never known about them being superheroes, but it's too late for that now. Now he needs his brother to not join their team, because he did not need Tadashi running headlong to any danger again, thank you very much.

Obviously, Tadashi refused to have his younger brother run face first into trouble without being some form of help himself either. He had _somewhat_ come to terms with Hiro's superhero job...'somewhat' being the key word (He might or might not have hijacked into the teams' communication and GPS but that's not the point).

Which brings them back to this situation, a situation in which Hiro pointedly 'forgets' to tell Tadashi all about their suits or weapons.

The younger Hamada scowled slightly. "You're still recovering."

"So are you," Tadashi was quick to refute, "That point's invalid."

"Rule 24. I need my space and my secrets!"

"Counter-Rule 28. No keeping secrets if it means endangering your life." Tadashi paused for a bit, raising an eyebrow, "Which I might add, you broke the rule. Penalty."

"I was going to tell you!" Hiro whined, "I was waiting for the right moment!"

"You mean 'never'," Gogo commented from one side. Hiro gave her a somewhat betrayed look, while Fred and Honey just looked very amused by the situation, though Wasabi was looking between both brothers nervously.

"Well, Rule 196! No copying my inventions!"

"Counter-Rule 213! Using each other's work for inspiration's allowed. Also, using penalty to negate this argument."

"I am simultaneously amazed and horrified," Wasabi remarked.

Hiro stood up, breath quickening as he realized he was slowly losing the battle. "Tadashi!" his eyes widened a little more and he puckered his lower lip a bit for additional effect. The little genius effectively looked like a kicked puppy.

The older Hamada's breath hitched a little; his little brother was _so_ _adorable_ but... "No Hiro, that's not going to work one me and that's final." Tadashi crossed his arms and eyed his little brother with a stern, determined look.

Hiro's puppy-like face turned into a scowl. "Invoke Rule 422," he gritted out.

Tadashi groaned. "Do we need to do this? Really?"

"Unless you're too scared to try!" Hiro fired back, "Otherwise, I get to keep the specs."

Silence.

The tension was almost palpable in the air and there was an intense look in both Hamadas' eyes.

Hiro's were lit with the fire of challenge, biting his bottom lip and showing a little of his tooth gap.

Tadashi looked like he was trying to calm himself down but it's not really working, eyes flashing with some kind of unrecognizable emotion.

The team had never seen them fight before. After all, Tadashi and Hiro were very close, and as it is this is the closest thing the team have seen to a full blown argument, more so one turning into a fight this entire year.

Right now though, there's sparks dancing in those glares, electrifying the air between their eyes.

More silence.

Fred dared to suck in breath.

"Alright," Tadashi pushed up the sleeves of his cardigan a little, standing up and Hiro pulled back an arm and the team nearby jumped up to stop them from brawling only for -

"Scissors paper stone!"

Gogo nearly chucked her can of mountain dew at one of their heads.

Wasabi sat back down with a big sigh of relief, Fred paused in mid stance (he was ready to intervene) and Honey let out a nervous giggle.

"For a moment I thought that they were about to punch each other," the Latina girl chuckled, "Of course it's not like that's going to happen, right? You didn't have to look so intense in a game..." Honey trailed off when she noticed the expressions on the brothers' faces.

Tadashi looked like he won a lottery, hand still out in the form of scissors.

Hiro on the other hand, looked like all the blood was drained out him. He stared at his hand, held out in the form of paper, with something akin to despair.

"I'm going to assume the target is a chip?" Tadashi hated to see that kind of expression on his brother's face but he hardened his resolve. If this was going to help him keep Hiro safe then this was what he will do.

"Y-yeah," the younger Hamada finally stuttered out, "Remember, you can't choose to have more than 1 week."

"And no less than three days," Tadashi added, "Game on?"

"Game on," Hiro didn't look too happy, "Now if you'll excuse me, I have some preparations to make." With that he walked away from the the lunch table in snappy steps, his lips drawn into a tight line, his eyes narrowed.

The team blinked.

Tadashi sat down and sipped on his coffee.

"Uh..." Wasabi was the first to break the awkward silence, "What just happened?"

* * *

><p>Rule 422 turned out to be a game.<p>

"Hiro has to hide the 'treasure', in this case the chip, but if I ever get my hands on it in any way during this seven days," Tadashi's explanation had been accompanied with an easy smile, "it's game over."

It's Tadashi and it sounded harmless so the team didn't really think too much about it.

"They have interesting rules, don't they?" Honey giggled before carefully dripping one drop of the solution she's holding into the flask Gogo was helpfully holding up for her. "It's really refreshing to see Tadashi so lively around here, he's usually just working in his lab and stuff. Hiro is good influence."

Gogo shrugged agreeably. Tadashi Hamada was usually known as the quiet, easy going one in their team after all.

Honey sighed dreamily. "I think it's kinda cute that they are so close with each other. I wonder how this game thing is going to work, though."

"Hey guys," Wasabi walked over, looking very confused, "Did any of you happen to see some of my-"

An unholy shriek of an alarm rang through the air.

It lasted for a good three minutes and made Honey, Gogo and Wasabi crouched over, hands over their ears in an attempt to block out said sound. Even when it ended the sound echoed in their ears for a few more seconds, the horrid wail leaving a nasty sound scar.

"Did that came from the Hamadas' lab?" Gogo's eyes were wide.

As if on cue, the door to said lab burst open and Hiro ran out clutching something. "You can't get it through a lousy tactic like that!" he crowed, before running pass them and out of the doors.

Tadashi stumbled out of the lab a second or so later with a slew of curses that made Wasabis jaw drop, considering who was cursing.

"Is that...foam?" Honey scurried over to help Tadashi.

The older Hamada was swaying on his feet, shaking his head to clear some of the white substance from his ears. "From the fire extinguisher," Tadashi didn't look very amused by that fact.

"He sprayed the fire extinguisher on you? What did you do?" Gogo asked sharply.

"...just tried to sneak up on him and take the chip," the man had the nerve to look disappointed but not guilty, "I should have known he would set a trap around him. Time for other plans."

"You have other plans?" Wasabi didn't look very happy at the thought, "You should clean up man."

"Yeah," Tadashi thanked Honey for the help. He proceeded to stomp to the direction of the bathroom, before seemingly realize something. "Also, Wasabi, you should pick up your laser equipment from the lab. Hiro used it as a motion sensor."

Wasabi gaped after him.

* * *

><p>"Rule 422?"<p>

"Yes ma'am," Honey sipped on her cup of hot chocolate and sighed appreciatively. The Hamada family's hot chocolate recipe is to die for, and between the family members, Kasumi, or Aunt Cass, does the recipe best.

"You know calling me ma'am makes me sound old," Aunt Cass chuckled. Honey and Wasabi had dropped off a pretty wet Tadashi to change his clothes and she's treating them while waiting for the man to finish changing.

Her smile turned into a frown when she remembered the topic at hand. "I can't believe they invoke Rule 422. It's been a long time since they did that."

"Tadashi says Rule 422 is a game," Honey placed down her cup, "It sounded innocent enough." And so far, it looked like a game of pranks.

"An unbelievably stupid, decision making one," Aunt Cass deadpanned, "One that involves horror for everyone around them, all to make one decision. What's the 'prize' this time?"

Wasabi and Honey looked at each other. There's no way they can answer 'oh, it's the specs for our super suits' so Honey settled for, "One of Hiro's inventions" complete with a sweet, innocent smile. Wasabi chose to drink his coffee at that moment because he can't for life lie to someone without a guilty look on his face.

Aunt Cass, to their relief, didn't question it. Instead, she looked like she's expecting the inevitable, sighing loudly with a look of resignation. "I guess that means I have to prepare for missing kitchen utensils."

"They took my equipment," Wasabi added in a disgruntled voice.

"Oh yes," the older woman giggled slightly, "When Rule 422 is up, anything goes unless specified beforehand."

The black man grimaced at the implications of that sentence.

"Sounds like we're in for a long week."

* * *

><p>That was an understatement.<p>

Seriously, they had no idea how this had started, but it did and now the team's just staring, slack jawed.

"A pair electromagnetic roller skates for Hiro's birthday present was a horrible idea," Wasabi remarked.

As if to make his point, Hiro zoomed pass them with a speed that distinctively mark his equipment to be of Gogo's making. "You'll never catch me! Give it up!"

The real surprise of this tag game was Tadashi.

"Huh," Gogo looked utterly amused, "Never knew he had speedy bone in his body."

And Tadashi Hamada zoomed passed them on Gogo's yellow electromagnetic bike, chasing after Hiro. "In your dreams!" he hollered to his younger brother, "Now get back here!"

"That's so awesome though," Fred laughed, clapping his hands, "Now we all know how he always manages to get Hiro from those bot-fights in time! I thought he had some magical teleportation power or something!"

Hiro skated passed them again and nearly knocked Fred off his feet.

"Uh guys, we should stop them soon," Wasabi commented, eyes following the chase, "They have been at this for about an hour or so. And we're all just standing here and just watching!"

"How do you plan on stopping them?" Gogo questioned. When she was replied with a blank face, she nodded, "Exactly. And Tadashi had the nerve to steal my bike." It was said without malice but the look on her face says that the Hamada brothers were in for a long lecture by Gogo sometime soon.

"Well," Honey piped up optimistically, taking the second or third or possibly tenth photo of the current situation with her phone, "At least they aren't doing this inside the lab?"

Tadashi cycled past them and forcefully sent Honey's hair flying to one direction.

Silence.

Finally Gogo broke it. "I'll grab my suit."

* * *

><p>Fourth day was perhaps the most chaotic of Rule 422.<p>

In the morning, Hiro came in to college half dressed in half of his suit (actually, he was only wearing the gloves and the helmet, thank goodness). He dived into the toilet and came out perfectly normal, if you count flying to school as a normal thing.

Then Tadashi came to college late with a record-breaking one hour. Apparently, Hiro had dismantled his moped.

And those weren't even the most chaotic part.

"Well, I needed to get rid of them soon anyway," Honey nodded almost approvingly, "They are quite old."

"That's not the point!" Wasabi shrieked, dodging one of haphazardly-thrown, chemical-filled test tubes. The moment it landed on the floor a whole load of blue foam appeared, hardening slightly and leaving an odd, soggy mess.

"Dude, this looks like a war zone!" Fred crowed joyfully, picking up some test tubes and chucking them down as well. It contacted with the earlier substance and turned the whole floor to a slippery, icy mess.

"What if someone gets injured?" Gogo popped her bubblegum, carefully staying by Honey's side. For some reason the area around her remained as a safe zone, clean and not being bombed.

"I kept all the explosive ones," there's a note of sorrow in Honey's voice. Her voice dropped into a whisper. "I was working on more of adhesive and sticky material, for cuffs and what not." The Latina girl looked back at the lab-turned-warzone, "I'm sure they know it too."

As if on cue, Hiro threw one of the test tubes he's holding at Tadashi's shoes.

His older brother nimbly leap aside and retaliated with a test tube of his own. Tadashi's arm faltered for a moment and his aim was thrown off, his thrown object ended up inches in front of Honey, who poked the solid result with a giggle.

"How are you still giggling over this?" Wasabi panted, running over to the two girls' side, "This is a mess! It's going to take forever to clean up!"

"Forget cleaning, we need to stop them first," Gogo snorted, "Fred too."

The only non-scientist in their group ran past them with a war cry and promptly got pelted by three test tubes that froze his feet in place.

"I'll do it," Honey shrugged, a twinkle in her eyes.

Gogo and Wasabi eyed her warily as Honey bounced off to grab a couple of test tubes for herself before running into the fray.

"She's totally enjoying this," Wasabi groaned.

Honey certainly looked like she was having fun, causing more chaos than the two boys did. Then with a few, well-thrown test tubes she managed to lock down both brothers with pink goo.

"Settled," she called out cheerfully.

Only the Hamadas and Fred got punished with clean up duty that day.

* * *

><p>Aunt Cass was right. Nobody was spared in this 'game' of theirs.<p>

"So, I have a theory where you would hide such a precious chip!" Fred said dramatically, "Inside a treasure chest buried deep inside the ground and marked with nothing but something that only recognizes your blood, am I right or am I right?"

"Fred," Hiro says exasperatedly with an amused tone, "You know that's not how it works." The boy was perched on top of Baymax's hand, the robot holding him up as he does some work on hyper-spectral cams that served as Baymax's eyes.

"Well, it's sometimes like that in the comic books," Fred grinned, "So? Did I guess it right? Or is it some plot twist? You have to tell me dude!"

"It's my secret to keep," Hiro drawled, a chuckle bubbling at the back of his throat, "Fred, what did Tadashi bribe you with to get this info?"

Fred froze only for a second but it was enough to give him away.

"It's not going to work," the younger Hamada shrugged, "It won't be the first time he tried this tactic."

"He's just worried," Fred sat down on a chair, his expression turned serious, "You know he is, little dude."

Hiro paused.

"I know," he finally admitted, turning around and looking down to face Fred, "I know, he always is. I'm worried about him too. I don't want him joining." His tone echoed the weary one he had used when he asked them all to keep their superhero identities a secret.

Fred's gaze softened.

Hiro might be in the higher position right now, especially perched on top of Baymax's hand like that but he looked so small, so vulnerable for that moment. There's a glazed look in the younger Hamada's eyes and Fred fancied that if he looked closer, he could see the memories of smoke and fire.

"You need to talk to him over this," the geek suggested softly, "You are both worried over each other. If you guys keep quiet nothing would be solved." Suddenly Fred let out several bursts of laughter. "I remember us telling this to Tadashi too. Oh man, you should see how he worries when you went off for bot fights, I swear he could create a ditch on the floor by pacing alone!"

That broke the solemn mood in the air and put a small grin on Hiro's face.

"I was a real nightmare, wasn't I?" the younger Hamada chuckled softly, "Thanks Fred. I'll think about it."

"Alright, since I'm outed from my spy job, I'll just excuse myself."

Fred gave him a thumbs up before standing up and heading for the door.

* * *

><p>Fred met Tadashi in the hallway half an hour later.<p>

"I didn't get it," was the first thing he said.

Tadashi looked like he expected that. Hiro was a genius after all, but it was well worth the try.

"I think you should talk to him, you know," Fred shrugged, "He's worried, a lot like you bro. You should just talk to him, convince him and we can totally start brainstorming the ideas for your suit!"

Tadashi let out a small laugh. "Alright then," he grinned, "I'll try talking to him. Hiro's stubborn though."

"You mean like you?"

"Oh shut up."

* * *

><p>When Tadashi finally manage to get back to the lab he shared with Hiro, it was after class and it was time to go home.<p>

"Hiro?"

There was no answer, which either mean his baby brother was buried deep inside his work or that Hiro had fallen asleep somehow.

It didn't take long to spot up a body curled up on top of Baymax, who substituted as mattress. Tadashi withhold his laughter and quickly took a picture of the scene with his phone; Hiro curled up on top of Baymax's warm belly was too cute to ignore. Aunt Cass would love to add that one to their album back home.

Baymax rotated his head to face him.

"Hello Tadashi," the older Hamada waved back at the soft greeting, "Is it time to go home?"

"Yes it is, big guy," Tadashi leaned down and patted Hiro's hair softly, "How long has he been sleeping?"

"Approximately 1 hour and 21 minutes."

Tadashi nodded, picking up Hiro and adjusting the smaller boy in his hold. Hiro let out a quiet groan, a little disturbed by the sudden change of position but snuggled into the crook of Tadashi's neck when the older Hamada hummed softly. The rhythm of Tadashi's heartbeat seems like a sufficient substitute for Baymax's soft body and Hiro was lulled back into deep sleep.

"Well, I guess I better ask Wasabi to fetch us home and Gogo to drive my moped back," Tadashi continued rubbing small circles on Hiro's back, sometimes stopping to pack up their things with one hand, "What do you say, Baymax? Are you following us or do you want to stay at the lab today?"

"Are you not looking for the chip, Tadashi?"

Tadashi blinked at the non-answer to his question, turning around to face a standing Baymax.

"The chip?" Tadashi echoed questioningly.

"The chip," Baymax tilted his head, "The one that Hiro hid from you because of Rule 422; In a drastic situation where a decision could not be achieve, a game shall be playe-"

"Okay okay okay that's enough," Tadashi cut Baymax off before the marshmallow robot could recite the entire of Rule 422. Trust Hiro to program all their rules into Baymax's memory as well. "Why would you think I'm looking at the chip in a time like this?" As if to emphasize his point, Tadashi adjusted his sleeping brother, making sure to not wake him up.

"I understand that you are in dire need of this chip," Baymax remarked, "Am I wrong?"

"Well, I do need it, yes," Tadashi continued packing some of their books back into their bags, "But not now. It's not like I know where this knucklehead hid it anyway." A soft look entered his eyes. "I just...I just want him to understand that I really do want to help him."

Tadashi let out a soft laugh, turning around and stuffing some tools and pencils haphazardly into his bag. "Hiro's too stubborn though. It's not goign to be easy convincing him."

"Will getting this chip keep Hiro safe?"

"Maybe?" Tadashi shrugged lightly. His tone broke, "I would do everything for him, Baymax. I can't lose him."

His only reply was a soft whirling sound.

"Wha-?"

"The chip," Baymax plucked a secondary, purple chip from his chip cartridge, holding it out for Tadashi, "I have come to the conclusion that giving you this chip will increase the chances of Hiro's safety." There was no way that Baymax actually looked determined, but that's what Tadashi saw in those black eyes.

"I can't believe he would use you as a hiding place," Tadashi breathed out, taking the chip, "But in the hindsight, it makes perfect sense. You are capable of hiding it away far better than any hiding place he could find. Genius."

"Hiro is a genius, yes," the marshmallow-like robot agreed pleasantly. A pause, before, "Tadashi, have I done the appropriate action?"

In that very moment, Tadashi thought that Baymax sounded like an unsure child, afraid of doing something wrong. A voice inside Tadashi's head reminded him that Baymax is just a robot and that this question was probably to improve his knowledge on how to treat patients, but there's also steel in those robotic tone, a determination to keep Hiro safe at all cost.

Tadashi wondered if he had accidentally placed a piece of his soul in Baymax when he created him.

"Yeah, yeah you have buddy," Tadashi shifted his sleeping brother gently, "He's not going to be happy."

No, Hiro will be absolutely mad that he had lost Rule 422 in such spectacular manner, outed by his trusted hiding place.

Baymax tilted his head, "But this will keep him safe." The gentle robot meets Tadashi's eyes and it felt like a pact was made.

"We will keep him safe."

* * *

><p>The next morning, Hiro found himself tucked neatly on his own bed.<p>

He turned around with a soft groan, eyeing a note with Tadashi's clean handwriting scrawled on it. He read it sleepily before the message registered and his brain came alive, his eyes went wider and his jaw dropped.

Hiro's screams of frustration rang throughout the entire house, startling Aunt Cass and making Mochi fall off the sofa.

Also, he stomped on Tadashi's foot as retaliation.

* * *

><p>- to be continued in Part 2<p>

* * *

><p><span><strong>Headcanons and notes!<strong>

:: While everyone has their specs and stuff of their suits, everyone gets the more detailed, specified version of the data, so they can make modifications as necessary to their specialties (Wasabi gets more details on his lasers, per say). For the actual construction of the suit itself and general overview, Hiro has all the data since he designed and brainstormed everything.

:: The scissors paper stone determines the amount of time Tadashi gets to try and get the chip. Since Tadashi won, he chose to have full duration (being one week). If Hiro had won he probably limit the time to three days, the bare minimum. XD

:: Thank you to Ketren for her/his? headcanon on Aunt Cass's full name (Kasumi Hamada). I loved it, and I loved what she/he thought up for their parents' names (Big sis Maemi "May" Hamada and Tomeo "Tom" Hamada) as well, so even if the names didn't appear in the fic, here's my adopted headcanon for it. Also, please direct your attention to her/his lovely fic, 'Malignant Butterfly Infestations: A Case Study' which can be found in both and A03.

:: Additional remarks for the note above; Hiro 'Harry' Hamada (as tribute to Ryan Potter XD) and Tadashi 'Theodore' Hamada. They made a promise to not call each other's english names ever since Hiro figured he could tease Tadashi endlessly by calling him 'Teddy'and Tadashi was getting annoying by making puns on 'Harry' and 'hairy'.

:: Hiro 'borrowed' Wasabi's laser technology to create a fine, small light laser that sounds an alarm if anyone steps on it (think those light lasers in mission impossible and stuff). Also, if he had been any younger he would have set a small fire on Tadashi, but due to 'certain events' he settled for rigging an automatic-spraying fire extinguisher.

:: Gogo gave them a three hour lecture on speed, their horrible techniques and why Tadashi should not 'borrow' her bike without permission.

:: Honey totally didn't get clean up duty. She did get a picture of them doing labor though.

:: Tadashi didn't bribe Fred, only asked him nicely. Fred jumped at the opportunity of being a 'spy'.

:: Hiro programs a password/security feature in Baymax after this event. Tadashi made sure to add in emergency override. Baymax himself created a database to sort out type of situations for him to apply these new features. XD

* * *

><p><strong>Author's note ::<strong> Next chapter is part 2. Stay tuned! 3


	3. Then we fanned flames (Part 2)

**Chapter Title ::** Then we fanned flames

**Summary ::**

Only the living feels guilt. (Part 2 of 3)

**Author's note ::**

This chapter was really hard on me. I have no idea why. Maybe it's because BH6 it's not that dark, so I needed to go over it god knows how many times and cut off some parts that didn't feel right. Either way, enjoy~

...it will be intense though.

**Dedication ::** To **Moros Mints** for being awesome and to **Forest Sentry Koneji** for being so supportive :)

* * *

><p>Hiro Hamada was sulking.<p>

There's a crouch to his walk, a pout to his lips, darkening of his eyes, a furrow of his brows and yes, Hiro was sulking and was determined to let the whole world know. It's times like this that everyone in the lab was pointedly reminded that Hiro only just turned 15 and was still very much a teenager, despite the smarts and brains.

"This is the third day, third hour and twentieth minute he's not talking to you," Wasabi remarked, in the midst of rearranging Gogo's tools and somehow roping Tadashi into it.

A slight frown crossed Tadashi's face and he gave Wasabi a shrug. It wasn't effective, not when it was done so half-heartedly.

Wasabi looked up to see Honey on Fred's couch. Despite how dirty it was, it was also one of the only softest furniture in this lab and the other woman was currently pretty exhausted.

That wasn't the strangest thing about the scene though.

What's strange was the little resident genius curled next to Honey like the cat the Hamada family owned. While Hiro had sulked for a good part of the three days, he was currently the picture of adorable innocence, snuggling up to Honey's side as though as he had done it all his life.

Honey, who was reading a huge textbook that she balanced on her knees, felt Wasabi's look on her. She looked up and smiled at the two men, a merry greeting to Wasabi and a somewhat apologetic one to Tadashi.

The older Hamada sighed, returning her smile with one of his own, a smile as half-hearted as his earlier shrug. It wasn't her fault, it wasn't anyone's fault, it's just...well, there's a reason why the situation was so strange.

It wasn't that Hiro never cuddled with any of them while he's napping, it's the choice of person he chose to cuddle with. After all, after Tadashi came back, Hiro's cuddle-sleep-nap was almost exclusively only perching on his brother's arms, face buried in the crook of his older brother's neck with Tadashi's favorite cap on his head, keeping the light away from his eyes.

Tadashi would be lying if he said he didn't missed having to carry his brother for the last three days.

Also, the lab could safely say the tension, sighing and downfall expression was grating on everyone's nerves.

"It was the right thing to do," Tadashi murmured, more for himself than for the benefit of others.

Wasabi muttered something that sounded like 'lies' under his breath. It would take a blind man to miss the hurt in Tadashi's eyes. Briefly, he wondered if the team should do something about it because the last time they didn't, they were stuck with half a week full of pranks and a new understanding of the Hamada brothers' rules.

Now that he thought about it yes, they really should do something about it.

Wasabi took out his cellphone the moment Tadashi turned away and texted the entire team.

* * *

><p>"How long does he sulk?"<p>

Tadashi looked up from his work, book balanced on one knee and a pencil perched behind his ear. The equations on the page were killing him and he wondered if he's either rusty from the hospital stay or he just couldn't understand the material.

"...At worst, the longest was a week," it didn't take a genius to figure out what Gogo was asking. The speedster had a pen in one hand and a textbook in another, sprinkled with notes she exchanged earlier with Wasabi.

Gogo paused, twirling her pen.

"How old was he when he ignored you for a week?"

"...About 6," Tadashi mumbled reluctantly with downcast eyes._ 'It might be longer now that this was a much more serious issue and Hiro was a good double of that age'_ was left unsaid.

Gogo crossed her arms, pen sticking out on one side with ink-stained tip ready to poke someone's eye out. "You should just woman up and talk to him."

"Hiro is very, very stubborn."

"So are you," the speedster quipped, popping her bubblegum, "But seriously. This is going out of hand." A flash of worry crossed her eyes, one that was no doubt mirrored by their friends hiding outside his lab door right about now.

"I will," the older Hamada promised, "I'll talk to him." He gave her one of his warm smiles. "Thanks, Gogo. You and the rest."

Gogo shrugged, tucked her pen into the middle of her book and promptly walked out of the door.

* * *

><p>Hiro woke up strangled with a silent scream.<p>

There was something holding him back and oh god where's he, was this his room? He looked to one side and the panic set in again, because Tadashi's not there, he's not there and that's not possible! Was the hospital miracle all a dream? He could feel his own breath hitching in his throat and a rational part of his brain was trying to calm himself down, but it's not _working_.

_(His microbots were holding him back and he couldn't stop Tadashi from running into the fire and -)_

NO.

The partition that separated Tadashi's corner was left wide open and Hiro could see the wrinkles on the bed sheet, the slightly moved blanket, the slight bump on the pillows.

Signs of life.

He sucked in a deep breath.

The teen kicked away the sheets tangled around his legs, pulled away the blankets wrapped around his torso in his sleep-struggle and headed straight for the garage. There's something he had to see, something that he loathed yet remained as a solid proof that his brother was still breathing.

He couldn't remember the journey in between but the next thing he knew, he was hesitating in front of the garage door. His hand hovered uncertainly because what he wanted to see might make or break him.

Deep breath.

Hiro pulled the door wide open.

The sight of the white suit in making, with sharp purple lines and glorious red markings made his heart skipped a beat. The suit, in all it's glory, represented the fact that Tadashi was alive, was breathing yes but yet, he's risking his life again because his nii-chan was one heck of an idiot.

Hiro gritted his teeth.

The metal was cool to touch, so deceptively innocent. He relished in the feel of the material, before the reminder of who this suit was for consumed him in sudden hate and the ice became fire that had his hand flinching backwards as though as burnt.

_'I'm not letting you do this alone,'_ he could hear his older brother say at the back of his mind.

_'Not if I can help it,'_ stubborn anger bubbled from the depth of his heart.

Why couldn't Tadashi understand?

_(Fire flicked at the edge of his vision and the nightmare from his recent nap suffocated him)_

The rage was slow to burst but too hot to contain, and Hiro saw red, saw the same shade of fury that clouded his eyes the day Callaghan had declared it was Tadashi's fault that he ran into the fire. Callaghan had nearly caused Tadashi's death and the suit will too, will allow Tadashi to run mindlessly in danger again, not caring for himself and -!

"Hiro?"

He gasped like he had forgotten to take a breath in his rage (and perhaps he did). The red faded and he felt drained all of the sudden. He had not allowed himself the time to recover from the nightmare and the line had blurred between reality and a horrific dream.

"Hiro," Tadashi's steps were slow and careful, "what are you doing?"

Hiro looked to his side and only did he noticed that he was holding a hammer, one of their hammers, and it was slammed down hard on a spot too close to the suit for comfort.

"I don't know," he murmured, dropping the hammer with a clatter. It tipped over the edge of the table.

He had been strangely satisfied with nearly destroying the suit and was disgusted with himself, because he very nearly wrought destruction upon his brother's creation.

_(As always, as always, he was meant to destroy)_

Lady Fate must hate him, Hiro thought. He had not talked to Tadashi for three days as means of protest and this was how their first conversation was going to happen?

As always, Tadashi understood him because he asked, "Did you have a nightmare?" but Tadashi didn't know that the fire wasn't the only nightmare that haunted him. Hiro dreamed of blood at times, dreamed of the time he had snapped and of what-ifs and these he never told anyone, because he wasn't going to snap again...was he?

_("He went in there to save you!")_

"Hey," Hiro relished in the hug that was given. He could feel his brother's favorite cap upon his head and the weight was comforting. "Hey, I'm here. It's okay, it's going to be alright."

Hiro believed in that for a moment, believed that it's going to be alright, that their world was alright again.

_("That was his mistake!")_

His eyes flew wide open at the memory.

"No!" His older brother looked so stunned at being pushed away so forcefully. Hiro would have laughed if he didn't feel like he's tipping over the edge. "No, it's not going to be alright. It's not going to be alright because this -," he wanted so much to smash that suit right now, "This is going to kill you!"

_(He failed to stop him the last time and he's not going to fail again)_

A small frown crossed Tadashi's face. "Hiro, listen to me. I know you're worri-"

"Do you?" Hiro interrupted him with a snap. The red was back and he felt like the air wasn't enough. "You think you know how much we mourned you? How much I cried? You think you know how many nightmares I had of you running in there to save someone who called your decision a mista-"

Hiro closed his mouth abruptly, eyes wide. He had spoken too much and Tadashi looked so confused right now.

"A mistake? Hiro, what are you talking about?"

"It doesn't matter." He didn't even know his voice could sound this bitter.

Tadashi let out a frustrated sigh. "It does matter," his older brother didn't look happy and Hiro childishly thought that yes, Tadashi should feel as unhappy as he was of this entire issue. "It does matter because nobody tells me anything."

Hiro let out a short bark of laughter with no delight in it. "Ever thought that maybe we don't want you to die again?"

It's not fair that Tadashi's the one that looked like he's been slapped across the face, "Otouto, please. I just want to help you."

"Don't," Hiro swore his voice didn't crack, "Don't. If you want to help, stay at home."

The look on Tadashi's face was answer enough. There's no way he would stay at home, not when his younger brother was in this line of job, not when he could help.

_("Tadashi, no!")_

**Why wouldn't Tadashi listen!?**

His nii-chan reached out and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Hiro, I -" but Hiro didn't let him finish.

"Fine," the teen spat out in a furious tone. He couldn't think straight, couldn't stop the boiling in his veins, couldn't breathe. "Fine. Get yourself killed. See if I care." He did not meant it, he never meant it, he will never mean it. Tears rolled down his cheeks and he could feel the start of hysterical crying.

No.

No, he's not crying in front of his insensitive nii-chan who didn't even know how to take care of his own life. Hiro pushed Tadashi's hand away and pushed pass him, running out out **_out_**.

"Hiro!" Tadashi cursed when he tripped over their red toolbox.

By the time he looked up, Hiro was gone.

* * *

><p>To be fair Wasabi thought he was getting better at this whole speed thing.<p>

Maybe.

This was only the second week since he begun training under Gogo, so he can utilize the electromagnetic bike that she built for their usage in their missions, and he did not scream like a little girl.

Perhaps a bit.

"Concentrate," Gogo barked, before face palming when Wasabi shrieked and immediately braked before he reached her acceptable speed standard. As much as she loved him as a friend she swore Wasabi could be such a sissy at times.

"You need to keep calm, Wasabi," she sighed, skating over on her roller skates. It had been such a surprise to find Wasabi driving Honey and Tadashi to their last scene but she supposed panic could make people do desperate things.

Gogo's eyes darkened at the thought of the fire that nearly claimed Hiro that night, how frantic she was as she dove into the flames herself and pulled their little leader's body out of the burning building. She remembered choking out broken sentences at Honey through her cellphone, something about how they failed Tadashi, how she failed them, how she failed herself, before chucking her phone aside, needing to make sure Hiro was still breathing.

"Gogo," Wasabi's concerned voice broke through her thoughts. She popped her bubblegum at him.

"You need to keep calm and concentrated," she repeated, before allowing a somewhat sadistic smirk graced her face, "C'mon. 21 laps around the city." Because like this they could get to know San Fransokyo, all her roads and all her alleys better.

Wasabi let out a pained groan.

In a minute they were off , Gogo lowering her speed to match Wasabi's. She's getting good practice in swerving between objects and people while Wasabi tried not too shriek too loudly.

When they finally took a break, it was in another dirty alleyway and Gogo noted that they were about two blocks away from Lucky Cat Cafe. Wasabi must have known it too because he looked pretty desperate for an escape.

_**Crash!**_

The sound of trashcans clattering against each other had them both alert and ready instinctively. Wasabi's hand was on his experimental laser gun but he loathed to use it. Gogo has no such qualms though, one of her discs out and already attached to her magnetic bare-knuckle glove.

The sound of coughing. Someone stumbled out from the corner.

"Tadashi?"

Wasabi and Gogo were understandably confused and filled with disbelief. It's close to sunset now and since they parted their ways with him after morning classes, they hadn't expected to see him until tomorrow.

Not in an alleyway, especially, of all places.

"Dude, what happened?" Wasabi rushed forward to check on their friend, "No offense, but you look like you've just gone through hell."

"Have you guys seen Hiro?"

"No," Gogo popped her bubblegum and narrowed her eyes at him, "What happened?" Tadashi usually looked calm and silently furious when he went off to pull Hiro out of botfighting, so a frantic Tadashi meant something worse and Gogo dared not imagine what.

_(Fire, fire)_

"Oh God, oh Kami-sama," Tadashi let out a choked groan, "I can't find him, I can't find him and this is all my fault. I knew it was a bad idea to take the chip, I shouldn't have done so, I should have thought it through -"

"Wow, calm down man," Wasabi shook Tadashi enough to cut him off, "Deep breaths now, one, two, three. One, two, three. Okay, please explain the situation in a calm and orderly manner."

"You got into a fight with him, didn't you?" Gogo guessed in a flat tone.

"I was so stupid," Tadashi rubbed a hand over his face, "I was so, so stupid."

"Yeah you are," Gogo's reply was in a sharp, blunt tone and Wasabi looked ready to protest, "But Hiro's pretty stupid too. Scratch that, both of you are idiots." Her eyes softened a fraction. "But that's only because the two of you care too much," her phone was already in her hands and she typed something into it, "Idiots."

Tadashi offered her a weak smile. He could see through her rough words, always could and always will. She had given her unspoken agreement to help and he could not be more grateful.

"Go home," Gogo's voice brooked no arguments, "Wait there. Prepare your defense speech, prepare whatever you need to say. Don't," here her eyes burned with a promise to hurt him if he want to do the opposite of what she's going to say, "go out and look for him. We'll find him, we'll bring him home. Just make sure you're ready to face him." God knows what she'll do if this happened again.

They need to settle this once and for all. They couldn't dance around this issue forever.

Of course Tadashi opened his mouth to protest but Wasabi was quick to offer an option. "At least an hour?" the man patted Tadashi's shoulder as a placating gesture, "If we don't find him in an hour, then we'll declare a search party with you as lead, alright?"

Gogo bet on 30 minutes before Tadashi will break down and start the search himself, but at least there's time. She knew who to go to to find Hiro anyway. Baymax should still be resting at the lab as of now.

"You bring him home, I'll start searching," Gogo tightened her roller skates. Wasabi nodded in agreement.

As soon as the two of them left the alleyway, Gogo's phone beeped with a message. She raised her eyebrow; why would Honey be texting her at a time like this?

She slid in her password, read the text message and smiled.

* * *

><p>On some days, Honey liked to just hang out with Fred.<p>

After all, the two of them were friends ever since high school. It's not that she didn't like the rest of the team, she just happened to appreciate Fred a tad more at times.

"Oh, I found this totally awesome milkshake bar the other day while buying issue #17 of Alpha Flight -"

Honey smiled to herself as she listened to Fred chatter. His enthusiasm cheered her up and even when he's caught up talking about his comics Fred never failed to try and cheer her in other ways, like introducing her to things that he knew she'll like.

"I tasted one of them and it was brilliant, like, totally awesome with bursts of strawberry -"

Honey paused when she spot a familiar figure on the bench nearby. Fred must have seen it too, because he went quiet. Wasn't that...

"Hiro?"

The teen looked up in a quick movement, for all the world looking like a startled fawn. They could see dried tear tracks on his cheeks and Hiro's eyes were red from crying.

"Are you hurt?" Honey exclaimed, immediately checking on the younger boy. She remembered of the bullies that Fred told her and a kind of rage flooded through her veins at the thought; if they want to get Hiro again they will have to deal with her first.

Hiro shook his head and Honey sighed in relief.

"Dude, what happened?"

Hiro shook his head again without a sound. Only then Honey noticed Tadashi's cap in his hands, gripped so tightly that Hiro's knuckles were turning white.

"Freddie," Honey looked up and looked at Fred. An unspoken agreement was exchanged; Fred slowly backed away and went off to get something.

Honey sat down beside Hiro, rubbing circles on his back to soothe the teen. She kept her silence and waited until Hiro was ready to tell her what happened. Finally, the younger Hamada looked up at her again.

"...Do you want to tell me what happened now?" Honey's voice was soft, smooth and warm.

"...I-I..I told him to kill himself," Honey had never seen Hiro looked so haunted, "I told him to kill himself. I told him to die. I'm a horrible person."

"Shh, it's not your fault, I'm sure-"

"No!" Hiro's voice cracked, "No, you don't understand! I told _Tadashi_ to die. I told him to die. I yelled at him- I said that I didn't want him to go and fight then I told him to kill himself and -!" His breath hitched in his throat and he pulled himself back, looking at her with wide eyes.

"What if he leaves again? What if he leaves me again?" Hiro's grip on the cap tightened and tears welled up at the corner of his eyes. "I'm horrid. I'm a horrid, horrid brother and this is why he ran into the fire and left me and -"

"Hiro!" Honey cut him off before he could go any further, "Hiro, no listen to me. Tadashi loves you," she took out a pale lilac handkerchief and wiped his tears. "He's really kind and can be overly selfless, but he really, really loves you Hiro. He would never do something like running into the fire to leave you alone."

Hiro gave her a broken look. Honey drew him in for a hug.

They had mourned when they thought Tadashi Hamada to be dead. They hadn't had the time to come to accept it before everything happened, and then Tadashi was suddenly back into their life and everything was suppose to be okay again.

Except, it wasn't.

As much as they wanted to go back to normal, they simply couldn't. A family had mourned, a group of friends had grieved, a mentor had been jailed. Nightmares haunted them at every corner of what-ifs and of seemingly miraculous second chances.

"...He's afraid," Honey suddenly added, and the younger Hamada gave her a surprised look, "He's afraid of losing you." 'Again,' a voice added in her head. She remembered how lost Tadashi looked like when he realized he had missed an important milestone in his baby brother's life.

_'Really?'_ Hiro's eyes pleaded at her silently.

Honey nods.

"You bros need to reach a middle ground."

Fred's voice was a startling addition. There he stood with three cups of milkshake and he practically shoved one topped with gummy bears into Hiro's hand, coupled with a wide grin.

"If it helps, do you know how many times he complains about not doing enough for his, I quote, 'dearest baby sweetheart brother'?" Fred let out an amused chuckle, "I think Gogo legitly wants to strangle him for how much he worries over you during our all-nighters."

Fred deepened his voice to mimic Tadashi. "Do you guys think Hiro's asleep yet? He better or he won't get a good 8 hours of sleep! Did he bath? I swear that kid forgets to bath at times. Did he have dinner? He better not skip it again!' It wasn't even remotely similar.

"You don't want to let him get hurt, he doesn't want to be helpless, there's bound to be something you guys can sort out. Hey, maybe you guys can be linked telepathically or something, that'll be so cool! You guys are geniuses after all!" Fred finished with an excited clap of his hands.

Honey blinked, somewhat stunned by Fred's summary of the entire event.

Hiro, on the other hand, burst out in weak laughter. "You're joking," he choked out, "He doesn't call me 'sweetheart', only knucklehead. And I don't forget to bath! That was one time!"

"Maybe I was exaggerating just a bit," Fred grinned, "But the concerns were totally real though. There was once Wasabi had to wrestle the phone from him so he doesn't call you at 3AM to make sure you're sleeping. We had to hide every phone because he memorized your number and keep an eye to make sure he didn't actually call you. "

That did it.

Hiro couldn't suppressed the incredulous snort that escaped him, his eyes lighting up and tiny giggles wracking his small frame.

Honey gave a brilliant smile at Fred over Hiro's head. Fred gave her a thumbs up and a cheeky grin.

"You need to go home Hiro," Honey patted the teen's shoulder gently, "You need to talk to him."

The younger Hamada stopped giggling and looked up at her hesitantly.

After a period of tense silence, he nodded.

"Awesome," Fred bounced up cheerily, "Lemme call my driver and we'll get you home in no time, little man!"

Honey shook her head at Fred with fond exasperation. She took a sip at her cup of strawberry milkshake, phone in hand and texting the situation to Gogo.

If Hiro was out here, there's no questioning that Tadashi was looking for him. If the situation was as bad as she thought it is, he probably roped Gogo and Wasabi into a search team.

She fired of a rapid message to the three of them that Hiro's with her, turned her phone off and appreciated how Fred was making Hiro laugh with ridiculous stories of their lab antics.

* * *

><p>Once he was dropped off at the cafe, Hiro immediately felt like running away again.<p>

_'That's not going to solve anything,'_ he could hear Honey admonishing him gently in his head.

Why can't everything go back to normal? Inwardly, Hiro knows that was impossible and as much as he loathed that Tadashi nearly died, he can't bring himself to regret their superhero origin story nor the fact they saved Abigail from the portal.

The journey up the stairs ended too soon and Hiro found himself staring at his half-naked brother from the back.

Hiro's breath hitched.

Scars.

Web of scars, littering across Tadashi's back, branching out like a solar flare to his shoulder blades, hips, exploding past his shoulders and curling just beneath his neck. They look haunting, they look horrifically beautiful, they look like the flames that so very nearly claimed him and

Hiro could see fire exploding from those marred flesh, reaching out and enveloping Tadashi's form again, before flaring out and wanting to claim him too and

he tripped over something and he's falling backwards and landing on the floor and backing up to the wall and

_Tadashi's here_.

Tadashi's in front of him, shushing him, pulling him into a hug and running a hand through Hiro's hair whispering, "It's alright. It's okay. You're fine, I'm here" and Hiro calmed down just enough to not start hyperventilating.

"Nii-chan," he mumbled and clung on to Tadashi, nails digging into exposed skin. He's here, he's really really here, not an illusion and Hiro let out a shuddering breath of relief.

Tadashi scooped Hiro up with one arm (oh gosh, his brother was so small, so vulnerable). He continued running his hand through Hiro's hair, a calming gesture, one that Hiro leaned into as though as his life depended on it.

He placed Hiro on his own bed, keeping quiet and keeping him enveloped in the hug. Tadashi waited until Hiro would say something.

"...I keep seeing you die," Hiro voice was soft and small when he finally spoke, "I remember it so clearly nii-chan, I keep seeing you going in there. Why didn't I hold you back? I should have hold you back, I should -"

Tadashi tightened his hug, cutting Hiro off.

"Don't say that, it's not your fault," he let out an exasperated sigh. "If anything it's my fault, I'm supposed to be the older one." Here, Tadashi hesitated just a bit and his voice dropped. "...I don't want to see you hurt again, Hiro." Tadashi had thought up of an argument yes, but seeing his brother so vulnerable like this practically chucked those words out of this situation.

Hiro let out a soft, tired chuckle. "We suck. We can't get a mutual agreement."

Tadashi hummed, equally amused and tired with the whole scenario. Yes, they butted heads once in a while and yes, when they do fight it was spectacular and every fight or disagreement drained him in such a way that made Tadashi vowed to never fight again.

Impossible, but worth a thought.

It took him a moment to realize that Hiro had drifted off to sleep in his arms, his younger brother's breathing steady. His poor, poor otouto, so emotionally drained, so much responsibility on those tiny shoulders.

Tadashi allowed himself to relax as well, stroking Hiro's hair to keep himself from drowning in guilt. It's therapeutic, this silence, this repeated movement, Hiro's breathing and the older Hamada found himself thinking for a solution about their situation. This argument needed to be solved because it's ridiculous and Tadashi's tired of arguing with Hiro.

He needed a new angle.

He turned his head slightly, only to spot Baymax's empty charging station, an extra one they had placed in their room. An idea whispered itself into his ears and Tadashi Hamada grinned.

He had an idea.

* * *

><p>To be continued in Part 3, in which we get to see Tadashi in action :D<p>

* * *

><p><strong><span>Headcanons and notes!<span>**

:: They say a master/mistress picks up as much pet habits as much as a pet picks up their master's/mistress' habits. Hiro is younger and thus more easily influenced. He picks up a lot of Mochi's quirks in the sense that some stuff he does reminds you of a cat.

:: Hiro sleeps a lot because he gets weird ideas at ungodly hours. When an idea strikes he doesn't and can not sleep thus, he substitutes it with daily naps. This habit follows him to college, much to some lecturers chagrin when he naps in the classes he thinks are 'not very important'. Also, the lab have gotten used to seeing Hiro napping on the strangest places possible, from Fred's couch to Baymax's side on the floor.

:: Fred's couch is shared to his friends wanting to catch up on sleep or just rest. It's old, it's dirty but it's really comfy.

:: Even after the movie ended Hiro is still haunted by nightmares. The team begin to notice these nightmares in his naps around the lab. Since Hiro isn't willing to talk about it, they silently agreed on accompanying him to rest (whoever who feels like resting).

Wasabi would polish his tool or nap along.

Honey would relax and read up on her formulas, equations and elements.

Fred would read comic books (sometimes to bore Hiro to sleep he purposely picks the most boring literature he can think of).

Gogo does not cuddle in public but very willing to work out equations with the smaller boy napping on her lap in the private confines of the Hamada's lab.

(One thing similar in these sessions are contact, they made sure to make reassuring gestures, hugs and cuddles to help alleviate his nightmares)

:: When Tadashi returned to the lab, he became Hiro's priority napping companion. Hiro's usually found carried around and tucked into his brother's arms or cuddled by his side or back to back. Anything as long as there's warmth, pulse and heartbeat.

:: Hiro wearing Tadashi's cap (especially cap)/clothing/sweater/jacket is my favorite kind of headcanon/image.

:: A more detailed description of Tadashi's suit would be to think of Hiro's suit, but full instead of stopping at the knees like Hiro's (Tadashi also happen to nag him on this, what if he injures himself, what if the wind cuts into his skin while flying etc). It's white with Hiro's purple as lines to accentuate certain edges and Baymax's red to accentuate the really smaller lines and some buttons/markings.

He have compartments like Hiro's suit, only larger in size and lesser in amount, to hold medical items, several knifes, technical equipment (in this sense he shares this feature with Hiro's suit) a binocular he made himself with several extras (honing sensors, GPS etc). Obviously, his suit is fire resistant (no one is stupid enough to tempt fate again)

He wears a white helmet with the now team-standard tinted visors. He also carries a katana, this one only wielded in self defense. This katana also has several modifications made to it, like the handle having magnetic grip similar to the ones on Baymax's back.

The only other equipment that Tadashi uses is a white hoverboard, one that he uses to stay mobile on the field, scout a location, keep a clear overview of the situation and to snatch up any injured people/teammates/_**especiallyHiro**_. The hoverboard was totally Hiro's idea (though in his defense it was meant to be Tadashi's quick escape, not to stay back and help people) because hoverboards are cool.

:: Inspiration for Tadashi's suit being white because most of Tadashi's wardrobe are soft, pure colors (mint green, light blue etc.) Red is a color he shares with Hiro and Baymax. Hoverboard idea is inspired from the fact that Hiro uses a hoverboard in the manga. Katana is inspired by the katana and wakizashi at the back of one official picture showing Hiro and Tadashi practicing martial arts (also, it's actually canon that Hiro mentions Tadashi being a heck lots better at martial arts than him _[ref : The Essential Guide to Big Hero 6, The Art of Big Hero 6, Manga : Baymax]_)

:: Regarding Fred and Honey, it's headcanon for me that they are friends since high school. Fred obviously has less than many friends considering his overly dramatic antics and love for comics mark him as an obvious geek, so he is overconfident to hide the fact he's lonely. Honey, while sociable and well-liked, is afraid of people finding out she enjoys explosion, that she never fit their image of the gentle, fashion loving girl so she hid that part of herself away. Fred saw past that and thinks Honey's love for explosion is awesome and Honey saw past Fred's overconfidence to his loneliness, so they became the best of friends. That's why she isn't bothered by the nickname that Fred gave her at all, and she calls Fred 'Freddie' in exchange.

:: Alpha Flight #17 was an issue of a comic book that Big Hero 6 originally was suppose to appear in, only for the idea to be scrapped and them launching as a mini series instead. :D

:: Honey's real name is Aiko Miyazaki, like in the comics.

:: It's actually canon that Hiro has self-confidence issues. An actual sentence of this was written in the book. 'That's me in the picture. The good-looking one. Okay, the small one.' _[ref : The Essential Guide to Big Hero 6]_

:: Hiro have grown quite a bit since his brother's supposed death, but the fact that this fic restores Tadashi to them in the same year they mourned him is bound to cause an emotional backlash. To me, Hiro had always been that one kid who depended on Tadashi and clung on to him excessively. This is further emphasized for me by the manga, in which it is clear that Hiro is bullied. Manga!Hiro shows a whole lot more clingy tendencies than the movie.

Before Tadashi's death, Hiro hid it well because it's lame to show it, but it shows from his other tendencies , like the moment he walks into the lab and he becomes rather shy, the fact that Tadashi knows to stay close and keep an eye on him (Tadashi looks epicly proud when Hiro takes the initiative to ask questions to his friends). It also showed when they were startled by the pigeon and they all reacted based on instinct. Everyone shot/attacked the pigeon but Hiro instinctively dived behind someone to hide. Assuming Tadashi didn't die, he would have dove behind him because Tadashi usually has his back.

Now Hiro's stuck in a situation where he's both more mature and still has the urge to depend on his brother.

:: In their daily lives, the team have started to carry some of their weapons on them.

Gogo carries a variation of her discs and modifies her bare-knuckles gloves to have magnets on them.

Wasabi carries an experimental laser gun and a laser knife.

Honey carries a small coin purse that is similar to her chem-purse, but with a whole lot less chemical combinations. She also has a bracelet with small, colorful pearl-size balls for this.

Fred wears a pair of sneakers that allows him to jump up to impossible highs (less than his suit but still impressive). He also has a bagpack that has decorative spikes on them, but he could change those decorative spikes to real spikes and swings the bag as a weapon (Inspired by concept art)

Hiro begun to wear a watch that allows him to communicate with the team for emergency purposes. The watch also acts like a mini computer (also a mini version of his gloves) that has basic scanners and holographic display.

Tadashi copied Hiro's watch and added in some of his own functions (notably a special tracker for a certain little brother)

Baymax remains as Baymax.

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><p>Good luck to me for part 3 :P<p> 


	4. The secrets left after (AU Ending)

**Chapter Title ::** The secrets left after (AU ending)

**Summary ::**

The hourglass has to turn one day. AU to Chapter 1.

**Author's note ::**

Interlude before part 3; I'm sorry if I disappointed anyone hoping for part 3 in this update. I got tagged in tumblr by Bukkun though, and the prompt was to write an alternate ending to your existing fic. I picked Chapter 1 of this fic, but yes, do keep in mind that this is considered an **AU to this series**, and thus, enjoy it as an AU. Next chapter would continue with part 3 :)

* * *

><p>Hiro smiled weakly up at them (oh god he looks like a precious angel) and his eyes focused on Tadashi. His smile turned wider and there was that little gap between his tooth that makes him look that much younger. "...I got them out," he wheezed, because other people's lives were more important now, "I got them all out."<p>

Then, he let out a choked cough and looks up at Tadashi with such awe in his eyes because

"I got you out, nii-chan. I got _you_ out."

There's a glitter of achievement and peace because he finally did what his nightmares could not and

Tadashi felt like the wind was knocked out of him.

The ambulance came and took Hiro away. The flames crackled and burned behind them and the team slowly began help out with cleaning the mess but Tadashi just stared at the ground because

this was all his fault.

* * *

><p>The grave wasn't empty this time.<p>

Tadashi bit down on his lip so hard he thought it might just bled and wouldn't that be better instead? The pain was intense, but it's nothing compared to the one that's still making his heart beat and in that very moment

Tadashi wanted to die.

(It hurts it hurts_ it hurts_ and it's not fair)

How was this even fair? To be given a second chance at life, but to have your one precious person ripped away?

It felt like they had been standing inside an hourglass, and it has just tipped the other way round. It wasn't fair, Tadashi thought bitterly, and his mind was filled with images of sands trickling downward and drowning his too short of a baby brother.

When had they begun to live on borrowed time?

(_I got you out, nii-chan. I got **you** out_)

Behind him, his friends grieved. They didn't deserve this, didn't deserve to mourn for two friends, didn't deserve to attend two funerals. He wanted to jump off a bridge and join his brother but he could not bear to break their hearts for a third time and Tadashi wondered why he felt so hollow at the thought.

Maybe the fire should have consumed him instead, to finish off the destiny that should have been his.

(_Tadashi, no!_)

He leaned his head on Hiro's coffin and he chuckled weakly because how cruel, how cruel that the moment he learned that his brother had been helping the world was the same moment the world ripped him away.

All his life he had always wanted to help people, so when did it all go wrong?

(_Nii-chan, **gomen**_)

Tadashi lit incense and his hand shook so hard that he very nearly crushed the little sticks in his grip and it burned a little too long and the hot ashes tipped-fall-burned his skin.

It felt sharp, painful but he didn't even flinch.

(_You'll change the world one day, Hiro_)

He remembered the smoky sky, the clear moon, the glow in his brother's eyes and his final breath. He remembered Gogo looking like she was about to murder someone and break down crying, of Honey and the way her wails pierced the night, Wasabi solemn enough for all of them and Fred challenging reality for the truth.

He remembered Baymax, clad in glorious red armor that gleamed under the soot, cradling a very still, gradually cold body and saying in that monotone voice, "I can't lose you, Hiro" and for that moment, the nursebot was _alive_.

And Tadashi felt like screaming.

(_I'm never giving up on you_)

The purple helmet was still covered in soot and scratches and smelt like flames. If he had known sooner, he could have seen Hiro's brilliant smile from behind the visor, all mischievous and ready to take the world.

Now, he had to settle for a cracked glass and a broken heart.

(_I'm sorry I couldn't get to you_)

Once upon a time, Tadashi Hamada had a dream.

Once upon a time, Hiro Hamada had taken that dream and made it his own as well.

Once upon a time, their dream had melded and merged and mixed until they could not remember when their own dream begun and when their own dream end and when their dream were individual and wasn't only one.

"Let's go, guys."

Tadashi burned incense, dropped a kiss on his brother's urn and picked up a white helmet.

* * *

><p><span><strong>Headcanons and Notes ::<strong>

- So in this AU, Hiro dies in the fire after and Tadashi takes his place. :P Still same white suit though, but his design will be closer to Hiro's to honor his memory. Also, Tadashi would take over riding on Baymax's back, keeping up maintenance and in this AU, he would be a proper fighter int he team as well, instead of being in the background.

- For explanation on Hiro's funeral, I'm going with urn, cremation and incense in respect to Asian culture (I'm really happy about adding some of my own culture into this). I also would like to give a shout out to Bukkun's **Babang Luksa** and Becky Blue Eyes' **Five Alarm Death March** as my main motivations and inspirations for the culture and tradition melding.

- I know of Asian households that keep the urns of their loved ones in their house, together with a small altar. We burn incense and pray to them and talk, and we even offer food to them especially in certain festivals. So yes, I think Tadashi keeps Hiro's urn in the cafe.

- Not so much notes this time since this was more to a drabble than anything else, but try hearing 'Say Something' by A Great Big World while reading this. It hurts. It is also my canon-go-to song for Big Hero 6 sad scenes. :P

See you guys in part 3~ :D (unless a prompt like this comes up again pffft)


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